YAK - QUEST FOR THE STONES (2015 ALBUM/2 LONG TRACKS)

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Long-awaited follow-up to the 2008 classic: ‘Journey Of The Yak’, an album that became massive at CDS Towers’ and remained as such for two years!

This is magnificent keyboard driven Symphonic Instrumental Prog from the same mould as the likes of GENESIS, Hackett, CAMEL, GREENSLADE and The ENID, and if you’re a fan of any of the above mentioned artists and bands, you should enjoy the music on offer on: ‘Quest For The Stones’.

First, here’s a bit about the history of YAK…
YAK plays instrumental Progressive Rock and hail from Essex in the United Kingdom. The band was originally formed in Loughton/Ongar in 1982 as a four-piece, but folded in 1984. Over the next 20 years, the music was kept 'alive' by keyboard player and YAK composer Martin Morgan and finally in 2004 a CD called: ‘Dark Side Of The Duck’ was released, featuring 8 of the original YAK tracks with the band emulated electronically on keyboards. Following this and the positive web reviews of the music, the band got back together.
Two further CD's were released, one in 2005 and one in 2006. These were both ‘live’ recordings of rehearsals/jam sessions in those years.
In late 2007 Martin Morgan got together with drummer Dave Speight to work on new YAK material. Dave played drums for Peter Banks (ex-YES) and Nick May's band WHIMWISE (ex- ENID) as well as featuring with, the Hungarian progressive rock band: YESTERDAYS. Together with Gary Bennett on bass, the ‘Journey Of The Yak’ album was recorded between April & August 2008, and it was in 2009 that CDS Towers discovered it for your listening pleasure. Back then we described it as “one of the best Symphonic Prog albums I’d heard in years” - now in 2015 it still sounds great, and there’s a brand new YAK CD to savour entitled: ‘Quest For The Stones’.

Now, the ‘Quest For The Stones’ album track-by-track…

The opening title track ‘Quest For The Stones’ comes in on an extended fantastic fanfare of ethereal, heavenly choral keyboard sounds, then takes off on a faster-paced, melodious synth-driven path for the next two minutes, with the bass player and drummer now firmly on board and driving the YAK at pace before slowing again and moving into an extended powerful high-register Hackett-esque guitar (well synth disguised as a guitar actually) driven passage.

Mellotron flute sounds and piano then take centre stage in a melodic passage that’s kind of mellow and played very much in a Tony Banks-ish fashion. Organ and more synth guitar follows with the driving bass-line motoring along beneath, before eventually emerging out into a grandiose section where organ, synth and Mellotron reside together in perfect harmony. As the 24-minute track moves into its final full-sounding phase, Martin’s keyboards are twisting and turning towards that anticipated final climax where a brief reprise of the peaceful ethereal introduction fades off into the distance.
Birdsong, melodic Mellotron flute and string sounds introduce: ‘Veil of Aeternum’, and at almost twenty-minutes, is another long piece that is bolstered by the arrival of the bass and drums at just past the 90 second mark, then more synths in the guise of multi-tracked guitars take the music up onto a higher plane. As the five-minute mark approaches it all becomes mellow again with Mellotron sounds creating another passage of ethereal beauty. Different keyboard layers arrive to form a sort of symphonic glow with the rhythm section in full flow, whilst keeping a tight rein on the pace of the piece as it goes. Further delicate synth textures start a drive towards a more full-sounding, grandiose territory for a while, and just as the ten minute mark approaches the high register guitar sounds collaborate with a brassy ARP synthesizer textures to form a blossoming new sound to excite and savour.
The album closes in style with another of those slowly building, yet huge panoramic keyboards displays, with high register synth melodies leading the way into a heavenly crescendo of symphonic keyboard sounds.

If keyboards driven, instrumental Prog-rock is your thing, you should give the symphonic sounds of YAK a go.

Also available by YAK: JOURNEY OF THE YAK (2008) CD - Stock # 1204331

‘Quest For The Stones’ is released on 1st June 2015.

YAK: QUEST FOR THE STONES Track List:

01. Quest For The Stones (24:00)
02. Veil of Aeternum (19:30)

TPT – 43:30